Lighthouse
by sundayeveninghero
Summary: [New oneshot! Back after 3 years yay] Guidance and support goes both ways. One-shots of unusual pairs who are much closer to each other than portrayed in the series. May be slightly OOC sometimes.
1. Rocks and Bandages

Oneshot 1: Rocks and Bandages

ErikoxYoshino

Disclaimer: All credit on MSGM to Oyuki Konno. Only the following stories are my own.

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><p>Eriko stormed out of the Rose Mansion after shutting off her cell phone.<p>

"Sorry, but I need to go."

After seeing the very obvious look of anger, sadness, and disappointment on her face, everyone just decided to let her go.

About half an hour went on until the meeting had ended but Eriko still hadn't returned. Her things were still in the mansion, which meant she was still on campus. But the other occupants couldn't afford to wait for her for too long.

"Everyone, feel free to head home," Yoshino said. "I'll stay here and do some homework for a bit while waiting for Eriko-sama to return."

"Then I'll stay behind too," Rei responded.

"No no. Let me handle this, Rei-chan. Besides, you have a test tomorrow so you should head home."

"I can study here."

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to talk to her myself. She's just as much my big sister as she is yours. Trust me?"

"...Okay. Please take care of her, Yoshino."

"Hey, Yoshino-chan," Sei interrupted. "If you find that she's more than you can handle, call me and Youko. Kay?"

"Yes."

Everyone went their separate ways while Yoshino stayed behind. But instead of doing her homework like she said, she waited for everyone else to be out of sight, left a note on the table for Eriko in case she returned, and practically ran to the main building.

"Screw walking slowly. It's after school hours anyway."

Yoshino ran to the first place she could think of: the roof. She knew Eriko would often come here to clear her head; it was her favourite spot to be by herself. The openness and elevation that made you feel like you were on top of the world just could not compete with the confines of the Rose Mansion.

Her instinct was right. Eriko was sitting on the floor with her back to the fence, phone in hand and head tilted back.

"I thought I'd find you here," Yoshino said, slightly panting.

Eriko turned her gaze and let a smile emerge. "Why didn't you just call?"

"Because for one," Yoshino replied, "You probably wouldn't pick up. And if you did, I'm sure you wouldn't tell me of your whereabouts. Two, you know I have a bit of a flare for the dramatic," she said with a smirk. "And three, I simply wanted to see you." This time, Yoshino put on a gentle smile.

Eriko let out an even bigger smile. "Thank you."

Yoshino made her way over next to Eriko and sat down, leaving just enough space to fit half a person between them. Knowing that she wouldn't open up right away, Yoshino just waited in silence. And they both sat in silence for about ten minutes.

"He cancelled on me again. Yamanobe-kun. For the fourth time." Eriko spoke up without breaking her gaze away from the sky.

Yoshino took a quick look at her and back.

"So I've learned that your heart will break several to many times before you find the real thing," Eriko continued. "Now I'm just trying to mentally prepare myself for it."

"You really have your heart set on him, don't you? This isn't just some school-girl crush?"

"Yes, I do. And no, right now I don't want to believe that it is."

_Actions speak louder than words,_ Yoshino remembered. And that fact was a blessing right now since she really wasn't sure of what "the right thing to say" was. So she placed her hand on top of Eriko's which was resting on the floor, and squeezed it gently once before letting her hand simply rest on hers.

Feeling the warm gesture, Eriko closed the gap between them and let her head rest on Yoshino's shoulder. _Oh, the warmth of a little sister_, she thought.

Not long after, Yoshino came up with the best words of encouragement that she could come up with; words that best catered to Eriko's fighting spirit.

"Don't give up, and don't let it get you down," she told her. "But at some point, you need to know that if he still doesn't see you for the wonderful person that you are then it's his problem. Not yours. I understand that people need to be hurt sometimes to grow stronger, but I don't want you to be crushed."

For the third time that afternoon, Eriko smiled. Truly, she had been blessed with friends that could be her rocks and bandages. And this one whose shoulder was supporting Eriko's head and sharing her burden was especially sturdy and protective.

"Thank you, dear. Really." Eriko returned the squeeze.

They sat there for just a little bit longer with no more words before heading home.


	2. I Think It's You

Oneshot 2: I Think It's You

Yoshino x *****, ever so slightly.

In which the Yamayurikai touch up on politics.

This story would have taken place a few years ago when Japan had like, 3 different prime ministers in 6 years or something like that. I don't quite remember the details.

Disclaimer: All credit on MSGM to Oyuki Konno. Only the following stories are my own.

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><p>"This is ridiculous!"<p>

Yoshino exclaimed to no one in particular as she flicked quite hard at the newspaper she was reading, causing everyone to look her way.

"This Prime Minister is a bone-head! His policies are nothing more than band-aid solutions! It's been three years since he's taken office and he's barely made good on any of his grandiose promises!"

The seven other members of the Yamayurikai looked on with shock, awe, and even some amusement. While there was no urgent work to be done, everyone gathered in the Rose Mansion for some light paperwork and more importantly, to simply enjoy each other's company.

"I didn't know you had an interest in politics, Yoshino-chan. What else is in that cute head of yours?" Eriko responded with mild interest.

"Our government has become nothing but a revolving door of heads of state. Elections happen too often, resulting in very few - if any - strong fundamentals being laid down, and therefore little progress is made. Our country's economy has more or less plateaued since the early nineties!" Yoshino continued with a little more vigour.

What was supposed to be a quiet afternoon was clearly and quickly turning into a potentially heated discussion of politics and the nation's future.

"Furthermore, it doesn't help that the rest of the world thinks we're ALL racist; and that even though women's rights is enshrined in our national constitution, thanks to a couple of Americans* oddly enough, such an advanced state like ours can't seem to figure out how to put more women in the workforce without shaming us for choosing a career over staying home and raising a family. No one wants to admit it, but we've lost our lustre on the international stage. And judging from who I see on both sides of the political spectrum right now, nothing much will change anytime soon."

_Racist? The constitution? Americans what?_

_Lost our lustre?_

A collective _Whoa_ went around in the minds of everyone in the room.

Yumi, who was just barely able to keep up with Yoshino's speedy train of thought, prodded her to continue voicing her opinions. _I continue to admire her more and more every day,_ she thought to herself.

"Uhm, so generally speaking, Yoshino-san, what do you think needs to be done to improve all of these things?"

"Well."

And there it was. The spark in her eyes, that I'm-super-glad-you-asked grin.

"Essentially the peoples' mindsets need to change. It's going to be hard to incite change in a people who so dearly love tradition, I know. But it'll take time and it can be done. There needs to be a change in attitudes; get rid of some outdated practices to make room for new ones; elect new blood into government – that sort of thing."

"One problem is," Sei countered. "Our country has the highest proportion of senior citizens that any other national population in the world, and they're more numerous than younger generations. All this change you speak of is going up against these senior citizens who'll oppose it and they'll live longer to do it!"

"Yeah, I see the irony – more old people living longer to insist on holding onto tradition. But I'm choosing to remain optimistic. We need a change in leadership; one person so steely in their resolve, so fresh, sharp, and so self-collected, that it's clear to everyone that she needs to be our leader. And for this leader, this change to be most effective, that person needs to be a woman. For a woman to become our head of state would speak volumes. Or, at least it would be a great start."

_Whew. Breathe, Yoshino._

"Well that's all good and nice," Sei interjected. "But at the rate things are going, I'm not sure I'll see a woman Prime Minister in my lifetime."

Meanwhile everyone else thought deeply of Sei's words.

"I believe we will. I believe the right woman will come along, in our lifetimes, and do what she was born to do. The best part about her? She knows it. For all we know, it could be someone in this room~. And no, I'm not talking about me." Yoshino spoke that last part playfully.

And with that last line, Yoshino shot a knowing look at the only future law student in the room.

To no one else, but quietly to herself, Youko definitely didn't miss it.

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><p>WOw I'm back after three years! Finally inspired to write again.<p>

- This story, as well as Yoshino's opinions were inspired by all the news I read online and the subsequent comments sections and discussion forums.

- Somehow I think it's very potentially within Yoshino's character to be at least mildly interested in politics and take on a left-leaning stance. I personally don't have an opinion regarding Japanese politics.

- Youko could totally run a country if she wanted to.

*One of the Americans who drafted Women's Rights in the Japanese constitution after World War II was Beate Sirota Gordon, who passed away at the end of 2012.


End file.
